Stars in Motion
by Paris in December
Summary: Tag to Broken Spirit, Chapter 1. Severus and Sirius spend some time together by the lake at night. Written for the HPFC 'Poem Prompt' Competition. Light slash. Chapters: 1/1. Separate, Together series.


**Author's Note: **Written for the 'Poem Prompt' Competition of All Competitions on the HPFC forum. I used the following poem as inspiration:

_The great Overdog_

_That heavenly beast_

_With a star in one eye_

_Gives a leap in the east._

_He dances upright_

_All the way to the west_

_And never once drops_

_On his forefeet to rest._

_I'm a poor underdog,_

_But to-night I will bark_

_With the great Overdog_

_That romps through the dark_

_**- Robert Frost, Canis Major**_

* * *

Sirius is always in motion. He probably has more energy at his most exhausted than Severus ever has, although that could just be an illusion caused by the fact that even fatigue doesn't stop the mutt from prancing around like a maniac.

_Mutt._ The first time Severus called him that, it was meant to be an insult. By now it's more of a pet name than anything else. Severus often thinks of Sirius as a dog, and not just because of that relentless energy. Sirius is also loyal and affectionate. Besides, he's named after the _Dog Star_.

"Was one of your parents a Seer?" Severus asks.

Sirius halts at the sound of his boyfriend's voice, and promptly falls off the rock he was trying to balance on. They're sitting at the edge of the lake in the middle of the night, ignoring the fact that curfew was about three hours ago. Well, Severus is sitting, anyway, on a flattish stone not far from Sirius's explorations.

"What d'you mean?"

"A Seer is someone who can predict the future," says Severus. He hides a grin behind his hand as Sirius gives him an offended look.

"I _know_ what a Seer _is_, Sev. But what does that have to do with my parents?" Sirius scrambles back up onto the rock.

Severus shrugs. "Not much. I was just thinking about how appropriate your name is."

"Don't talk to _me_ about eerily accurate names," says Sirius, shooting Severus a sly glance. "If I had to guess what kind of bloke you were, knowing only your name, I'd come pretty damn close to the mark."

"I take after my mother," says Severus, keeping a straight face.

Sirius snorts and slides off the rock with all the grace of a troll. "I suppose it's fortunate that I can't say the same." He walks over to Severus and settles on his lap.

Severus makes a small noise of protest, but he's long since learned that it's pointless to try to shove Sirius off when he doesn't want to budge. "I'm sorry I brought up the subject. I know you don't like to talk about your family."

Sirius sighs, his breath tickling Severus's neck. Then he bends his head to nuzzle Severus's shoulder. "You smell good tonight," he murmurs.

"You smell like wet dog," says Severus. "I thought you were going to get new shampoo."

"I thought about it, but all the girls are still after me and nasty shampoo is really good for keeping them away." Sirius wraps his arms around Severus's neck, and Severus responds by embracing Sirius around the waist. "It'd be easier if we could be _out_, you know?"

"There are about a thousand reasons we shouldn't ever tell anyone we're together. I don't want to talk about that, Sirius."

"All right. I'll be good." Sirius pulls back slightly to look Severus in the face. "Does it really bother you, the dog smell? I can still change it if it makes that much of a difference to you…"

Severus shakes his head, but he can't resist a faint smile. It's moments like these that he loves Sirius the most – it seems like such a little thing, but Sirius must be really sincere about this relationship if he's willing to change something for Severus's sake, regardless of the consequences.

Then Severus leans forward for a kiss, because Sirius is his boyfriend and he _can_. When they pull apart, Severus is feeling pleasantly flushed and Sirius's eyes are shining like the star for which he's named.

"Come on," Sirius whispers, sliding off Severus's lap and tugging at his hands. "Dance with me."

"Dance?" Severus allows himself to be pulled to his feet, but he frowns at the other boy.

"Sure. Like this." Sirius starts to spin them around, keeping hold of Severus's hands. They start slowly and then move faster, with Sirius leading, until the scenery that passes by is just a blur and the only clear thing in Severus's vision is Sirius's laughing face.

"Why are we doing this?" Severus asks, his eyes focused on Sirius's long hair as it whips around his head.

"Because it's fun!" Sirius grins and adds a little skip to his step. "Come on, Sev, dance like you mean it!"

Their steps get wilder and faster still, and Sirius's joy is so contagious that Severus soon finds himself laughing aloud and lifting his face to the sky. Up above, it's as though the stars themselves are in motion, dancing along with the two wizards in a counterpoint to Sirius's lead.


End file.
